HARRY Arter admits he is champing at the bit to finally win his Premier League spurs after putting behind him a “horrible” five-month injury nightmare.

Arter took his first steps on the comeback trail when he was given a 57-minute run-out during Cherries’ Under-21 Premier League Cup defeat at Colchester last night.

The midfielder had been plagued by a groin problem which started to cause him discomfort following Cherries’ title-clinching win at Charlton on the final day of last season.

And although he tried to play through the pain after coming off the bench in the Republic of Ireland’s friendly with England in June, it proved a mistake.

Arter, named PFA fans’ player of the year in the Championship last season, was a key performer as Cherries reached the top flight for the first time in their history.

“It was good to be back after such a long time out,” said Arter. “Five months without a game is a long while. The fact I missed pre-season gets brushed to one side and it looks like I only missed the first couple of months but my last full game was at Charlton.

“There was a good tempo to the game and it was a good test. All the training in the world doesn’t give you that match sharpness or match fitness so it was nice to come back and try to get through a game rather than having to win so much for the first team.”

Asked whether he had a target in mind to return to the first team, Arter replied: “My target is Manchester City. It’s a game everyone wants to be involved in. I trust the manager and whatever he feels is best and whenever he feels I can make an impact on the team, I’ll be ready for his call.

“I have only watched two games. I hate watching, it is the worst part of it. I worked so hard for this last season and to miss out has been horrible.

“I picked up the injury while I was away with Ireland. I played half-an-hour for them which was probably the worst thing I did because it probably prolonged the time I was out. As soon as last season had finished, I should have picked up on the problem but you learn from these things.

“The hardest thing was trying to diagnose what the problem was. Four months later, we got there and, hopefully, they have cured it and I can get back to playing. I don’t blame anyone. It was quite a complex injury, I am just glad we have now got to the bottom of it.

“I am just looking forward to getting back when the manager feels I am ready. Fingers crossed it is sooner rather than later," added Arter in an interview with the club website.